Tool



March 11, 1930. OTTINGER TOOL Original Filed March 4,, 1927 INVENTOR Zen/2 022272 91 h 1': ATTO EY Patented Mar. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE anon or'rnvssa, or NEW YORK, N.

TOOI:

Original. application filed. March a, 1927, Serial No. 172,905. Divided and this application filed. August y This invention relates to tools, and more particularly to an improved tool whereby latch or door handle escutcheon members may be easily, quickly and securely attached to the door. The subject matter of this application constitutes a division of my pend- 1n March 4, 1927.

It is a more particular object of the invention to provide a simply constructed and inexpensive hand operated tool whereby an attaching flange formed on the escutcheon member may be quickly and rigidly fixed or attached to the outer metal plate of a door structure without welding or necessitating the use of screws, rivets or other additional fastening elements.

To the above end, in apreferred embodiment of the tool, the same is provided with relatively movable elements adapted to be positioned through a flange extending inwardly from the escutcheon member through an opening in the door plate. These tool members are provided with suitably formed cutting edges and cam surfaces whereby, upon their relative movement, the escutcheon flange is cut or split at spaced points and indentations simultaneously formed in the edge of the door opening and the flange metal at one side ofthe out expanded into the indentations. In this manner, the escutcheon member is rigidly secured to the door plate against relative movement.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved tool and in the form, constructionand relative arrangement of its several parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and subse- 1 quently incorporated in the subjoined claim.

In the drawing, wherein I have illustrated one practical embodiment of the device, and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved escutcheon attaching tool;

Fi 2 is a similar fragmentary view showing t e tool jaws in their open or expanded i positions;

application Serial No. 172,905, filed novel features of member,it being also Serial No. 2%,015.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the tool as seen in Fig. 2, and

Fig. l is a detail view on an enlarged scale similar to Fig. 2 showing the relation of the parts of the attaching tool to the escutcheon member after the tool has been operated.

For the purpose of illustrating one application and use of my improved tool, 1' have shown in the accompanying drawing a combination escutcheon and bearing member for the handle shaft of a door latch which substantially corresponds with the disclosure contained in my co-pending application for patent filed March 3, 1924, Serial No. 696,426 now issued as Patent No. 154L988, dated Sep tember 18, 1927. lit will howevenbe understood, as this description proceeds, that the my present invention might also be advantageously employed in connec tion with escutcheon members of various other'structural forms and with which the bearing for the handle shaft may or may not be combined to constitute a composite unit. As shown, the escutcheon member is diestamped or to provide a hollow annular head 5, the inner side of which is open and in'which an annular shaft bearing element 6 of yieldable or compressiblematerial such as felt is securely held.

The rear side wall of the annular head 5 is provided with a short axially projecting hub or flange 7, and preferably, though not necessarily, said rear wall at the outer edge of the annular head 5 of the escutcheon is pressed outwardly or offset from the plane of said wall to provide an annular rib indicated at 8. The internal ment 6 is appreciably less than the internal diameter of the flange 7, so that the shaft will be rotatably supported in the bearing element 6 out of contact with the metal escutcheon observed that the shaft receiving opening of of less diameter than the internal diameter of the outer or front wall of the escutcheon head 5.

The sheet metal door with an opening 10 therein, sad 0 ing more or less accurately rela plate 9 is provided ening beto the ac formed from a sheet metal blanl:

said bearing element isdiameter of the felt bearing eletuating rollback of a latch (not'shown) suitably mounted or secured u on the inner side plate of the door. It is 0 course, apparent thatthe outer diameter of the escutcheon flange 7 is determined in accordance with the diameter of this opening 10 in the door plate so that said flange may be snugly litted through the opening as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing.

The suhjectmatter of this application is concernedparticularly with means whereby the inwardly projecting flange 7 of the escutcheon may he quickly and rigidly fixed in attached relation to the door plate 9 without welding or requiring the use of screws, rivets or the like. In the illustrated embodiment (if the invention, this means for .efl'ecting the permanent attachment of the escutcheon.

member to the door plate is in the form of a simple and easily operated hand tool similar in a general way to the ordinary pliers. As herein shown, this tool consists of two lever members 11 suitably connected with each other at one of their ends for relative pivotal movement. as by means of the pin 12. These ends of the lever members'a're provided with suitably formed parts withwhich complementary parts of the jaws 13 are adapted to be engaged. Preferably these jaws are removably or detachably secured to the respective lever members by means of the screws indicated at 14. Each of the jaws has a reduced part 15 extending inwardly over the end of the lever member to which the jaw is attached and said parts are provided with opposed plane surfaces as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings for relative sliding contact with each other. These slidably engaged parts of the jaws are providedwith the angularly projecting cutting and expanding bits 16, the relatively opposite edges of said cutting bits being formed with the curved or concave cutting edges 17 and with the rounded or convex cam surfaces 18 adjacent to each of said cutting edges.

In spaced relation to the pivot 12 connecting the lever members with each other, one of said lever members is provided with an in.- wardly projecting stud 19 while the other lever member carries an adjustable screw 20. A coiled expansion spring 21 has its ends engaged around the inner end of said screw 7, and the stud 19 and yieldingly holds said lever members in the normal position relative to each other as seen in Fig. 1 with the two cutting bits 16 positioned in the same plane.

In the attachment of the escutcheon memher to the door plate, said member is first arranged as seen in Fig. 4 of the drawings with its flange 7 extending inwardly through the opening 10 in the door plate. The workman 'now positions the bits 16 of the tool through the bearing element 6 and the flange 7 and without exerting pressure against the head 5 of the escutcheon member the levers 11 are pressed towards each other, thus relatively moving the cutting bits 16 and separating the same laterally so that their cutting edges 17 will cut or slit the escutcheon flange 7 at dian'ietrically opposite points. In the latter part of this movement and before the opposed ends of the stud l9 and screw 20 come into contact, the cutting edges 17 of said hits bite into or indent the metal at the ed e of the opening 10 as clearlyshown at 22 in l ig. 4 of the drawings. At the same time, the metal of the flange7 at one side of the cut therein is'expanded outwardly under pressure by the cam surface 18 on the cutting bit and into the indentation 22. It is also obvious that in this outward expansion of the parts of the flange 7 into the indentations of the door plate, the escutcheon member will be drawn towards the door plate so that the annular rib 8 on the rear wall thereof will be urged into tight frictional abutting contact against the outer face of said plate. The operator new releases pressure-on the lever members 11 so that they will be returned to normal position by the spring 21 and he then turns the tool through 90 and again operates the same to cause the cutting and expanding bits 16 to similarly cut or slit the flange 7 and expand the same into additional indentations in the door plate 9 in the manner above explained. Thus, it will be apparent that the metal of the escutcheon flange 7 is interlocked with the metal of the door plate at a plurality of points around the opening 10. The tool may be thus operated very quickly and with a vminimum of manual labor to produce an absolutely rigid as well as an inseparable connection between the escutcheon member and the door plate, in so far'as any attempt to remove the latter from the outer side of the door is concerned. By means of such a tool or its mechanical equivalent, such latch or door handle escutcheon members can therefore be rapidly attached to door plates with the assurance of absolute security and accuracy in the relation between the escutcheon member and the handle receiving opening and it is also evident that such attaching or assembling operation may be performed by unskilled labor. The new tool has been particularly designed with a view to its use for the attachment of latch handle escutcheons to automobile doors. Since it is the practice of the automobile manufacturer to attach or apply these escutcheons after the doors have been painted, it will be apparent that the use of such a tool obviates any possibility of marring the paint on the surface of the door which is not an infrequent occurrence when attaching screws for the escutcheon members are employed, by reason of the screw driver slipping and cutting into the surface of the door. Therefore, it will be appreciated that my present door plate invention enables the manufacturer to expedite production and at the same time efiect I an appreciable decrease in labor and material costs. In the foregoing description, I have referred to one simple andpractical embodiv ment of my present improvements, but it will nevertheless be understood that in practice various alternatives of the several features of m the illustrated embodiment of the device might be resorted to, and I therefore, reserve 7 the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes therein as may be fairlyv embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim A tool comprising a pair of intermediately pivoted levers having expandingly coacting, concave, beveled cuttmg Ems a apted to s11t and interlockingly attac a bushing to an apertured plate.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have si ed my name hereto.

L ON OTTINGER. 

